Sales of top fruit aren't really taking off yet. Exporter Jan Timmermans from Veen (the Netherlands) doubts whether there's any light at the end of the tunnel. "There's a lot of volume that's not moving yet, and the price shows hardly any change. Only when there's a promotion somewhere, you see a certain size gain momentum for a while. Some volumes are going away, but at minimal margins. If the quality of the top fruit wasn't so good, it would all look a lot more gloomy."
"The sizes under 65 are all below 50 cents, and the various sizes are at most 5 cents apart. Prices are really too low for all sizes. Add 20 cents, and it would be a lot better for everyone," Jan goes on to say. He does have a solution: "If the Russian market were to open up, things would turn out alright, but the new markets are not yet able to compensate for the loss of Russia. And because we started later, we will have to sell a bigger volume each week than least year."
"There is a bit of export to the traditional destinations, and Spain is still in the market a bit more, but otherwise nothing special is happening. I had expected more from the new markets in particular. In China, everyone is enthusiastic about the flavour of the Conference pear, but the appearance is not as attractive. The brown and green colour is associated with Class III, and that's not something we can change overnight."
For more information:
Jan Timmermans
C.G.Timmermans & Zn. B.V.
Veensesteeg 15
4264 ZG Veen
